in case you’re wondering about the broom

Remember the broom I bought from Shrey ya’s grandmother? In case you’re wondering, it made it back to California in one piece!

I won’t bore you with the details of our 48+ hour journey from Cambodia to Kona, but I will tell you about the broom’s voyage.

As you know, I bought two brooms in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The broom survived the night bus and made it safely to Siem Reap. It sat next to us on the 6 hour bus ride to Phnom Penh. I almost forgot it in our hotel as we loaded the bus to the airport and I actually did forget it on the bus. While standing on line waiting to check our bags, I saw a guy holding a rolled up rice mat and I smiled as I remembered the souviner I’d be taking back. PANIC. I left it on the bus! My calm, cool and collected husband called the bus driver and he generously agreed to come back and bring the broom back to the frazzled, stressed and almost crying wife {uh, that would be me}.

With the broom in hand, we passed through security and customs without a hitch. I did get a lot of weird looks from fellow travelers.

We made it to South Korea, spent our 12 hour layover in a hotel, were asked by the concierge why I was carrying a broom, got a few more weird looks, and then made it back through security and immigration with the broom in hand. And then we saw this:

HEAVEN. {sidenote: If “America runs on Dunkin”, then tell me WHY in the world there’s a Dunkin Donuts in SOUTH KOREA and not in California –or anywhere on the west coast???}

So, we all made it back to Kona in one piece! However, leaving Kona was not so easy. As we were checking our bags, they made us do this:

They told us it was a dual purpose weapon. Seriously? It’s made from flimsy STICKS… and it made it through 4 other airport securities, including Honolulu. Unbelievable. So, we had no other option then to use the whole roll of duct tape to secure it onto our bag.

It made it to California but was not attached to the bag and the red covering was torn off the edge. But it wasn’t broken!

Maybe you think I’m weird that I just wrote a whole blog post about the journey of our broom, or that I even went to such trouble to bring it back home. But it’s all we have left of Shrey ya… and it was so worth it.

Funny thing is, I ended up leaving it in our friend’s trunk. Sigh. At least it’s safely in America

Day 3

 

We both woke up feeling like we got hit by a truck. Not to be a Debbie downer, but too many hours in the car breathing the same air, coffee overload, unhealthy food, creepy hotels and lack of sleep has made us sick. I find that so ironic because I NEVER get sick when I’m working at the hospital and people cough on me all day. Nevertheless, we still love road trips and are enjoying the journey! I had been searching for a Dunkin Donuts since we left California and it was our lucky day because there was a DD in Missouri! We plugged it in the GPS and knew that in 3 hours we would be enjoying delicious hazelnut coffee and munchkins! Just the thought of it made our achy bodies and sore throats feel a little better.

Until the GPS led us into the airport. WHAT? The dunkin donuts was IN the airport. Oh no! Davey was quick to search for another one and when we saw the orange and pink DD in the distance we were like giddy children! The girl was SO nice and gave us 10 munchkins for the price of one! DD… always going the extra mile!

And we were ready to drive the many miles ahead  now that we were on a sugar/caffiene high. We were a little dissapointed though becuase the next 3 states we drove through had their welcome signs in the middle of the highway so we couldn’t get out and take a picture. So without further ado, here’s Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky… and speaking of states, we have found 38 state license plates!

We stopped for gas and Davey went inside to “buy a bag of carrots”. This is what he came back with:

We saw some pretty sweet cars on the road. Well, we almost missed this car because it blended in with the surroundings. I wonder if his color scheme helps him avoid speeding tickets?

We finally made it to Tennessee! Oh Daveyyyy, are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see. Haha! Couldn’t resist!

Once we were in Nashville, we met our friends, Jack and Cherie for dinner. Jack and Cherie have made a huge impact on our lives… in fact they were the ones who inspired and suggested this adventure that we’re on! We had a BLAST talking and catching up while feasting on some amazing Tex Mex. Good friends, chips, salsa and tacos… doesn’t get much better than that!

Whenever we drive through a new state, we try to imagine what it would be like to live there. We can NEVER EVER picture a life in Kansas, but Nashville… maybe one day

rainy graduation

It’s great to be home! Of course I miss my wonderful husband, but there’s nothing like NEW JERSEY and family and dunkin donuts!!!

We’ve been busy with Jordan’s awards ceremony, nursing pinning and graduation! He’s quite the scholar! We’re so proud of him and can’t wait till he passes is NCLEX!!!! YAY Jordan!!!

Here he is getting his nursing pin! Jonathan drove home from college and walked in at the exact moment they called Jordan’s name!!! It was perfect!!!

He’s also dating my best friend’s sister…(they met at our wedding! yay!)

It seems to rain for every single important occasion in our family. It rained for my college graduation, Jake’s college graduation, our wedding and I guess Jordan didn’t want to be left out… it rained today too! They say rain is good luck…

I guess a lot of people were in denial that rain was in the forecast because lots of girls heels were getting stuck in the mud and everyone ran under the overhang when it started pouring.  But we were prepared (recognize our wedding umbrella?!) and watched this all happen from inside and under our umbrellas.

Jake, Mandy, Jonny and I braved the rain to listen to the ceremony and my parents came out to cheer Jordan as he got his diploma. Jordan was pretty excited… he slowed the line and the lady on the right yelled at him. haha

We made some great signs… pretty much the best out of anyone. We also cheered the loudest! Go Jordan! It took us a few tries to get organized…

But we figured it out!

My dad was remembering my graduation ceremony and said, “how many years ago was that? 15?” Maybe not FIFTEEN, but it seems like it could be! (it was only FOUR!) Time sure flies!

you’re the only ten I see :-)

One of my favorite pick up lines is “are you from Tennessee? because you’re the only ten I see!” And basically, that’s all I knew about the state… a catchy pick up line and that Davey used to live there. Well, last week we flew to TN and as soon as we landed, I immediately fell in love with this place… all the trees were green and the flowers were blooming… it was so beautiful! Not to mention another reason I like it here:

And that sweet red stang I’m leaning on is our rental (we got a killer deal b/c the Hertz guy said I was nice and he liked red-heads) That’s why Davey loves TN… he gets to drive his dream car! It was so fun. Here’s a better picture of my stud in his stang:

So, 2 medium hazelnut iced coffee’s in hand (and a few munchkins too) we sped around Nashville seeing the sights. We visited the Grand Opry Hotel— INCREDIBLE. This hotel has a jungle inside of it, complete with waterfalls, rivers, and trees…

I’m not a fan of country music, but since we’re in Nashville, we HAD to do something music related… so we went to the Gibson Guitar Showcase and Davey jammed on a few beauties…

Later that evening, we met some family friends, The Whitworth’s, for dinner. It was a great time catching up, laughing at old memories and eating delicious food! Unfortunately, we didn’t get a picture of the 4 of us… but we did get one shot of “Super Dave” and “Uncle Wayno” as they so affectionately call one another

So, the main reason we traveled to Tennessee was for HopeForce training.
“What is HopeForce” you ask? Hopeforce is a Disaster Relief Organization whose mission is to motivate, equip and mobilize the global Christian community to respond in times of crisis and chronic need, to alleviate suffering and bring hope through compassionate action.

*check out this video and see how they responded to the earthquake in Haiti

pretty amazing, huh?! We are so excited to be part of this organization! It would take pages and pages to elaborate on what we learned and studied, but one thing that was emphasized was the ministry of “presence” and just being there with people during a crisis is soooo valuable to them and embodies what Jesus would do. We were blown away by the training and came away so spiritually refreshed, challenged and inspired.We made some new friends and are looking forward to serving the Lord with them in the future.

here’s our group…

After the training, we had the privilege of taking Jack and Cherie (HopeForce founders), and Dave (the tech guy) out to dinner. We had a blast talking and laughing over burgers and fish and chips. God is so good and we feel so blessed to have met them and gotten to spend time getting to know them and hear their stories!

We’ll keep you posted on future trips and deployments!

And if ANYONE is interested in becoming a reservist– you don’t have to be in the medical field– We totally recommend it. It will change your life and give you new eyes to see people how Jesus sees them. (visit http://hopeforce.org/ for more info)

On Sunday, we got to drive to a little town called Linden. Davey and his family lived there for 2 years. It was so fun seeing the house he lived in and meeting some of his friends and seeing the beautiful property that his family owns. Here’s a few highlights:

And look who was living in our flowers when we got home! A morning dove has laid eggs and sits here all day and night like a statue. We named her Mindy. Her husband Mork sometimes flies over and brings her food. I don’t really like birds up close like this and I think she’s going to attack me whenever I walk by… but it’s kinda cool to watch her perserverance as she sits on those eggs. Next thing I know, I’ll be putting out bird seed like my parents.

ok, enough about birds. hope everyone enjoys this beautiful spring day!